Many of the towns in MA were named after towns/cities/counties in the UK (Essex in particular); Braintree, Chelmsford, Billerica[y], etc. Indeed the counties of MA are mainly UK town/city names in the UK. It's only 3 out of the 14 that aren't (Dukes, Franklin, Nantucket).

It always made me chuckle to see so many place names I recognised from home (UK) when I visited our office in Lowell, MA.